Two more shirting backings to go.
September Goals
For September I would like to get these four shirting quilts quilted. But before I can do that I need to finish piecing 3 backings. I hope, given that I have two 4 day weekends this month, I can pull this off. If I get it all done, there is more to do as the quilts pictured below are on my list to finish by the end of the year as well.
I did mention I set a crazy challenge for myself, didn’t I?
What’s On My Design Wall
Over the weekend I finished cutting the shirt squares. Then I started stitching them into quilt backs. The one pictured above will go with the Orange Disappearing 9-Patch. Pictured below is half of the backing for one of the other Disappearing 9-Patch quilts.
In the bottom left corner is the stack of quilt tops which I’m planning on quilting. I hope to get all of these backs knocked out this week, then I’ll start a marathon quilting session. I’ve got a 4-day weekend coming up.
Hop over to Patchwork Times to see what others are working on.
Stash Report
It was a long day Saturday — I finished cutting the rest of the squares for the quilt backs — and the first 80 are sewn into groups of 4. But I simply ran out of steam before I could finish the back, so no fabric counted as out this week.
Fabric Added Since Last Report 0.0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 185.805 yards
Fabric Used Since Last Report: 0.0 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 61.785 yards
INCREASE in Stash to Date: 124.02 yards
See how others are doing over at Patchwork Times.
Past the Halfway Point
229 squares cut, another 181 squares to go to hit 410. I’ve emptied one shirt box, although I am filling it up with bits and pieces which need to be cut up into the Scrap Users System. But that’s for another day perhaps in January after I get past my latest crazy challenge of finishing 12 quilts in 4 months.
I had high hopes for this week. Get all the squares cut and the smallest backing made so I could quilt the Orange Disappearing 9-patch next week. However, I had a vicious attack of hives and it knocked me for a loop for a couple of days. I don’t ever recall having hives before and have no idea what set them off. Tomorrow is another day, so perhaps I’ll get more knocked out then than I have the last couple of days.
What’s On My Design Wall
I’ve been cutting up my shirts into 9-inch squares to make the backings for 4 quilts made from shirts. So far I’ve cut 183 squares and I need 410 for the 4 backings. The count should have been 187, but I cut the last shirt back wrong, not once, but twice, resulting in just 2 squares instead of 6. At that point I called it a day.
That pile of strips in the back will eventually become tumblers.
Check out the links over at Patchwork Times to see what others are working on.
Stash Report
I finished the Green Disappearing 9-Patch top so that’s nearly 6-7/8 yards of countable fabric used.
Fabric Added Since Last Report 0.0 yards
Fabric Added to Date: 185.805 yards
Fabric Used Since Last Report: 6.806 yards
Fabric Used to Date: 61.785 yards
INCREASE in Stash to Date: 124.02 yards
See how others are doing over at Patchwork Times.
Disappearing 9-Patch #3
The Green Disappearing 9-Patch is now a top. That makes 3 I’ve made this summer. Now it’s on to the quilt backs. I have 50 squares cut from the shirts and I need 410. That number is up from the original 320 as I will be finishing Nifty Thrifty this fall as well.
I’ll cut all the squares for the backings, then alternate piecing a backing with quilting a top. That should give my shoulders and neck a break.
Quilts From My Past – Which Way Is Up?
Today I’m linking this edition of Quilts From My Past to Krista’s Throwback Thursday post.
This quilt was started in the November 2004 on-line virtual retreat hosted by Wonder Cut Ruler. I’m not sure when I purchased the Wonder Cut Ruler, but I know this is the first quilt I made with it. As part of the ‘retreat’ we simply made the 9-patch blocks. The final layout was up to the individual quilter.
My husband and I jointly worked on the layout. He’d tell me which block to turn and I was crawling on the floor flipping the blocks around. Once I we had the layout worked out I got the center sewn together. It was probably 18 months before I got the borders on the quilt and got it quilted and bound.
The outer border and backing is a cool looking fabric. I originally bought some to make a reindeer on my Christmas Block of the Month.
Once I decided the fabric was perfect of my quilt, I raided a friend’s stash as she bought the rest of the bolt!
The quilting is simple. Straight lines through the “arrows”. flying geese in the light border and a diamond cable in the outer border which I found in a Georgia Bonesteel book.
The quilt measures 69″ x 86″. Warm and Natural batting.
This quilt is well used. It’s on my half of the bed.
480 Tumblers
July 1st I started this year’s Leader/Ender Challenge that Bonnie Hunter is hosting. My tumblers are from recycled shirts. Thus far I’ve managed to stitch 480 tumblers into 240 pairs while working on the Disappearing 9-Patch quilts over the past 7 weeks.
Speaking of the Disappearing 9-Patch, I didn’t quite get the 3rd section sewn together. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll finish the quilt top tonight. Since I’ve run out of light tumblers. I’ll stitch the pairs into 4’s until I finish the D9P. Then more tumblers both light and dark will be cut as I cut the squares for the backings.
